- Now THIS is the story we’ve been waiting MONTHS for! In a nutshell, the Disney machine (inlcuding Miramax, Buena Vista, & Dimension) have finally broken their code of non-anamorphic (16:9) DVDs. As a widescreen TV owner, I couldn’t be happier! Shakespeare In Love will be the studio’s very first anamorphic DVD, streeting next month in a standard edition, with a Special Edition somewhere down the road.
In addition to THIS news, they also announce that they’re working on a Chasing Amy Special Edition! Yes!!! Could this mean we’ll see all that great SE material from the Criterion disc, maybe even MORE, AND a 16:9 transfer for Amy??? We sure as hell hope so! In a recent interview, Kevin himself was quoted as saying that Buena Vista were attempting to buy the rights to the Criterion disc to put out their own version of Amy (Since Criterion wanted to release the disc as-is, with no widescreen enhacement or additional features).
At any rate, here’s the full story, courtesy of The Digital Bits:
Miramax has further informed me that they plan to push vigorously for anamorphic widescreen on future titles, and that they would like to start supporting DTS on some future releases as well (particularly their Dimension horror line). Other special edition DVDs that they currently have in the works, are Life is Beautiful (which will include a half-hour special on director Roberto Benigni, as well as both the English dubbed and original Italian audio tracks), From Dusk Til Dawn (with a making-of documentary), Switchblade Sisters, Il Postino, Chasing Amy, and Scream 2. Down the line, other titles that will likely receive special edition treatment, are Scream 3, Killing Mrs. Tingle (likely with a Kevin Williamson commentary track), and eventually The English Patient. Their Halloween H20: SE has finally been rescheduled for 9/28.
I’m told that the biggest constraints on Miramax doing special editions faster on DVD, are all of the myriad of legal rights issues that arise over special edition material (which is becoming more of a problem as the format gains popularity), and just the sheer amount of work that is involved in pulling everything together. But rest assured – they are adding staffers, and plan to start really doing lots of great special edition DVDs as soon as they can. As for their recent She’s All That DVD, which was mistakenly released with only Dolby Digital 2.0 audio, the disc is now being repressed by Buena Vista with the correct Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Anyone who purchased it should return it to the store where they bought it. You will be able to exchange them for the corrected discs, as soon as they are ready, and are sent to retailers. We will post information on how to spot the corrected discs, and when they will be available, as soon as the details are finalized.
Got Something To Say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.